In This Issue

On Tuesday the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted 9-1 to approve a revised version of the Rudin plan to redevelop the eight buildings of St. Vincent’s “East Campus,” including demolishing four buildings for new condo development and adapting/altering four others for residential use. The LPC had already voted 6-4 in favor of a hardship finding to allow St. Vincent’s to demolish the O’Toole building on the west side of 7th Avenue at 13th Street, and had voted 8-3 in favor of the proposed 286 ft. tall new hospital which would replace it, making this the final LPC vote on the project.

The revised Rudin proposal approved by the LPC can be found HERE (prior versions can be found HERE); the latest version included a further reduction in the size of the proposed new 7th Avenue tower and 12th Street building, as well as changes to the facades of the proposed new townhouses on 11th Street. The plan has been revised several times since the original proposal for demolishing all eight buildings. GVSHP raised several issues throughout the process regarding the Rudin designs; some of these issues were addressed in the various revisions, while others, such as opposing the demolition of the Reiss Pavilion, were not.

The Rudin/St. Vincent’s proposal still needs substantial zoning changes which require public hearings and votes by the City Council, the Manhattan Borough President, and the City Planning Commission. The LPC’s hardship finding also continues to face a legal challenge.

After nearly three years, Hudson Street between Perry and West 11th Street in front of Jane Jacobs’ former home at 555 Hudson Street will finally be co-named “Jane Jacobs Way” in honor of the pioneering preservation activist. GVSHP first proposed the street co-naming in 2006 shortly after Jacobs’ death; the proposal was approved by the local community board and the City Council, and then sat in limbo for 2 1/2 years.

Jacobs served as an early member of the GVSHP Board of Advisors after its founding in 1980, and generously conducted an oral history for GVSHP which is available through our website. In June, 2006, shortly after her death, GVSHP and the Center for the Living City held a public celebration of the life of Jane Jacobs in Washington Square Park. GVSHP has consistently pushed for the long-overdue renaming to become official to honor this great woman’s contributions to the Village and the world. Signs will be up and the co-naming will be official early next week.

For more information about Jane Jacobs and honoring her contributions, CLICK HERE.

Coverage, Support for Community Response to NYU 2031 Plan

In June GVSHP, Greenwich Village Block Associations, and a dozen other community groups hosted a Town Hall meeting attended by over 200 people regarding concerns about the NYU 2031 Plan and the impact it could have on our neighborhood. The Town Hall generated over 200 letters to elected officials, local community boards, and members of the NYU Community Task Force urging that NYU seek locations outside of our neighborhood for future growth by the university. It also garnered positive attention in the New York Post (“The University That Ate The Village!,” June 28th) and The Villager newspaper.